After the discovery of an artifact, many things will have to be done before the artifact can go to a museum or into a laboratory for examination. The first things archeologist do are cleaning and sometimes conserving and the examination begins. In order to identify the specimen of the artifact and recognize if it’s an already known typology or a new type, archeologists groups the dug-up items in groups in which they are similar in. The materials are first grouped into obvious and broad groups like pottery, stone tools, metal tools, and weapons, jewelry, etc. Then the items are grouped two more times into more detailed groups according to the way the items are created. With in these groups, archeologist spends time dividing them according to their shape into jars, bowls, dishes, vases, cups, etc. Then the items are organized along with other’s their same size because different sized items can frequently be related to the functions of the pots. Finally, the artifacts are put into groups with similar or same decorations. The surface texture, the stages a pottery went through before firing can all help archeologist determine the type of artifact it is. The artifacts don’t always make through the decades without breaking. Many artifacts found are in pieces and archeologists are responsible for piecing them together. Though a single piece of sherd cannot determine what kind of pottery the sherd came from, but the archeologist creates graphs to calculate the diameter of the artifact and-in the end-piece the pieces found together. Having to know what the unearthed artifact is is very important. The newly found artifacts can be compared with artifacts found in other sites to ascertain the material and the date of the artifact. It also suggests where we are digging. For instance, if we uncover cooking pots, we can create the hypothesis that the kitchen area is uncovered. We can also predict who was living in the area from the artifact we find since the pots created by different tribes in different areas have a different surface texture and such.
With in these groups, archeologist spends time dividing them according to their shape into jars, bowls, dishes, vases, cups, etc. Then the items are organized along with other’s their same size because different sized items can frequently be related to the functions of the pots. Finally, the artifacts are put into groups with similar or same decorations. The surface texture, the stages a pottery went through before firing can all help archeologist determine the type of artifact it is.
The artifacts don’t always make through the decades without breaking. Many artifacts found are in pieces and archeologists are responsible for piecing them together. Though a single piece of sherd cannot determine what kind of pottery the sherd came from, but the archeologist creates graphs to calculate the diameter of the artifact and-in the end-piece the pieces found together.
Having to know what the unearthed artifact is is very important. The newly found artifacts can be compared with artifacts found in other sites to ascertain the material and the date of the artifact. It also suggests where we are digging. For instance, if we uncover cooking pots, we can create the hypothesis that the kitchen area is uncovered. We can also predict who was living in the area from the artifact we find since the pots created by different tribes in different areas have a different surface texture and such.